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December 3rd, 2008
Posted: 03:29 AM ET
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) — Police in Zimbabwe chased away residents from long bank queues and arrested several trade union leaders Wednesday to head off a protest against limits on cash withdrawals in the inflation-ravaged African nation. Police rounded up union leaders who had planned to march to the central bank in Harare and began breaking up lines at bank branches. Queuing up to withdraw money has become a daily sight in the country that is facing an acute shortage of cash, and the money that banks give out sometimes is not enough to purchase basic necessities. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe allows a maximum daily withdrawal of 500,000 Zimbabwean dollars — the equivalent of about 25 cents in the United States — as a way to ease the country’s acute cash problems. The amount is not even enough to pay for a loaf of bread, which costs about 2 million Zimbabwean dollars ($1 U.S.). The arrests followed Monday rampages in the capital by angry, unpaid soldiers who clashed with foreign currency exchangers and some civilians. Friday, soldiers also looted some shops they suspected to be illegally dealing in foreign currency after failing to get cash from their banks. |
 
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